On this day in history, March 26

03/26/2013 10:21 AM

03/26/2013 10:40 AM

Ken Bundy from Bridgeport Ct. who served in Vietnam for 2 years touchs the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, DC. (Mark Wilson, Getty Images)

A famous (and sometimes controversial) religious text was first published, a groundbreaking ceremony occurred in Washington D.C. on a new war memorial, and nearly 40 people killed themselves in one of the biggest mass suicides in history.

In 1827 Deaf German Composer Ludwig Van Beethoven Died In Vienna, Austria. His Funeral Was A National Day Of Mourning.

In 1830 The Book of Mormon is published in Palmyra, New York.

In 1885 Britain's First Cremation Was Performed At Woking Crematorium, Surrey.

In 1924 Bernard Shaw's St Joan, Starring Sybil Thorndike, Was Performed For The First Time At The New Theatre, London, England.

In 1934 The British Road Traffic Act Introduced The Driving Test For All Motorists.

In 1959 American Crime Writer Raymond Chandler Died. He Was Best Known For His Philip Marlowe Stories.

In 1964 The First Performance Of Funny Girl Starring Barbra Streisand On New York's Broadway Established Her As A Star.

In 1965 Jeff Beck Replaced Eric Clapton As The Yardbirds Guitarist.

In 1970 Peter Yarrow, Of Peter, Paul And Mary Pleaded Guilty To 'Taking Immoral' Liberties With A 14-Year-Old Girl In Washington, America.

In 1991 Five South Korean boys, nicknamed the Frog Boys, disappear while hunting for frogs and are murdered in a case that remains unsolved.In 1997 39 people died inthe 'Heaven's Gate' cult suicides In San Diego, California. The UFO cult killed themselves after seeing the Hale Bopp Comet, and believing it was a spaceship that would take them to a better world.In 1998 Actor Daniel Massey Star Of The Entertainer Died Of Heart Failure At The Age Of 64.

In 1999 A jury in Michigan finds Dr. Jack Kevorkian guilty of second-degree murder for administering a lethal injection to a terminally ill man.

In 2000 Vladimir Putin Is Elected President Of Russia.

In 2005 The Revived Series Of British Science Fiction Program Doctor Who Begins Broadcasting On British Television.

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